Is U.S. Downgrade of Mexican Aviation a Concern?

Aeromexico says it meets international safety standards, even if its country does not.

Flying to Mexico? Should you be concerned about the Federal Aviation Administration’s downgrade of Mexico in aviation safety?

Sure. While Mexican airlines have correctly noted that the FAA action applies to the country, not to the airlines themselves, the move to drop Mexico from Category 1 to Category 2 means Mexico’s aviation infrastructure doesn’t meet international standards. And that can be cause for concern.

Category 2 can mean lots of things, and it’s not the only way to assess safety on international airlines. This Middle Seat from December runs through the different options that travelers have for checking out international airlines.

A lack of inspectors or adequate oversight of airlines is often the cause a downgrade for a nation by the FAA. Changes in laws that don’t meet international standards can be another. Sometimes the issues stem from facilities or even air-traffic control practices.

For the most part, the countries that the FAA puts in Category 2 (here’s the full list) are poorer nations that struggle to support adequate oversight of airlines. Bangladesh, Croatia, Ghana, Honduras, Indonesia, Nicaragua, Philippines, Ukraine and Zimbabwe are on the list. There are a few notable exceptions. Israel, for example, is currently a Category 2 country.

For both Israel and Mexico, officials say the problems stem from shortages of government inspectors. In Mexico City, Undersecretary of Transportation Humberto Trevino Landois told reporters on July 30 that Mexico’s problem was not “of technical quality, but only of quantity’’ and the FAA’s decision didn’t signify any deterioration of safety of Mexican airlines and airports.

But is there a worry for travelers?Ultimately, yes. There are some immediate things to look for. Airlines can subject themselves to outside inspections that can alleviate concerns for travelers, such as a program run by the International Air Transport Association. Few travelers would have safety worries about Israel’s El Al airlines even though Israel is currently a Category 2 nation, according to the FAA. And Aeromexico, for example, pointed out after the FAA’s downgrade that it has passed three consecutive IATA Operational Safety Audits.

“The result of this audit exclusively refers to the Mexican aeronautics authority and does not reflect the level of safety that national airlines maintain,‘’ Aeromexico said in a statement after the FAA downgrade.

But every airline needs government safety oversight. In the long run, inadequate supervision has to be a worry. The FAA says it will go back to audit again as Mexico promises improvements. Stay tuned.

Comments (5 of 5)

Mexican officials are known for being sluggish, American officials are known for being protectionists and biased towards the economic interest of major corporations. Once more Mexico has fallen victim of its own Bureaucracy.

2:36 am August 5, 2010

Jorge Arturo wrote :

I don't think Mexican authorities are easy, since several national airlines have been closed due to security concerns, or even the state of planes (including age and cleanliness) is mainly a change in US rules (FAA rules) and some sort of help to US airlines (they all had economic trouble)

It is a mater of time until the Mexican transportation authorities had all in order, again.

10:30 pm August 3, 2010

ChiTraveler wrote :

Antonio, maybe you have all of those disruptions BECAUSE there is ample inspection in the US. Do you ever wonder how many of those Mexican flights should have been disrupted but weren't because nobody was around to enforce standards?

5:05 pm August 3, 2010

Ralph wrote :

Or maybe there's political pressure due to all the violence in Mexico. Some idiotic drug gang with a rocket launcher? Not too far fetched.

2:26 pm August 3, 2010

Antonio wrote :

Hello. I slightly disagree with the article about whether or not travelers should be concerned about Mexican airlines. I travel frequently between the US and Mexico, and I have to say that I have experienced many more disruptions of travel and other frightening situations aboard US carriers than Mexican ones. For example, once flying with AA from Dallas to San Luis Potosi the plane had to make an emergency landing after 1 hour of flight because of some failure with the plane. And very frequently I have been subject of unboarding because failures on the doors, electric systems, etc. On the other side, I have never experienced anything like that on a Mexican carrier, and when you look at the cleanliness and overall state of the planes of Mexicana, for example, they totally surpass that of Continental, American, Delta, which look old, dirty and ugly. Maybe cleanliness does not reflect the level of inspection the airlines get, but they definitively show the level of attention the planes get. I also think that these ratings could be politically motivated: to encourage travelers to fly with US carriers, and thus generating disloyal competition.

About The Middle Seat Terminal

Scott McCartney writes The Middle Seat every Thursday. The Wall Street Journal’s Travel Editor, Scott has been on the airline beat since 1995 — long enough to see it go from bust to boom and back to bust. He also writes a blog on travel at The Middle Seat Terminal.

Scott won the Online News Association award for online commentary in 2003 for “The Middle Seat,” the George Polk Award for transportation reporting in 2000, and has been honored by the Deadline Club and New York’s chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Before joining the Journal in 1993, he spent 11 years at The Associated Press.

Scott, a native of Boston and graduate of Duke University, is the author of four books, includingThe Wall Street Journal Guide to Power Travel: How to Arrive with Your Dignity, Sanity, and Wallet Intact, which was published in 2009. He’s also an instrument-rated private pilot.